|
The Phoenix Affirmations
A New Vision for the Future of Christianity
By Eric Elnes
Jossey-Bass, 2006. 149 pages.
Reviewed by Christy Risser-Milne
Princeton Theological Seminary-trained pastor and scholar Eric Elnes has, in this small book, attempted to make a somewhat liberal take on Christianity palatable to Christians of a more Evangelical disposition. These “Phoenix Affirmations” (so named because Elnes is pastor of a United Church of Christ congregation in a Phoenix, Arizona suburb) are a collection of twelve tenets of faith for anyone seeking a place to stand in the surging sea of theological chaos that covers the contemporary American landscape of faith.
The Affirmations are certainly comprehensive. They allow for the traditional Jesus-centric take on Christianity, while simultaneously allowing God’s ability to bring others to grace by way of other paths of faith. They call all believers to prayer, study of the Bible (though they clearly stand in opposition of the bibliolatry rife in current Evangelical thought and practice), and meditation. The Affirmations allow a place for gays and lesbians in the Church. They call for a distinct and well-reasoned separation of Church and State. They call all believers to a continual seeking, questioning, and acting on faith in a world that doesn’t seem to value faith too much these days. They are humble affirmations of faith from individuals working hard to build bridges of understanding and communication over that turbulent sea.
The failing of the Phoenix Affirmations is that they are trying so very hard to be all things to all people that they alienate many of those they so very much want to include in their community. For example, there are many who would brand my personal theological take on the Bible, the person of Jesus, and the relationship of God and humanity as liberal heresy (actually, it’s more correctly a version of Pelagian heresy, but let’s not split hairs). I find the language they use, and their desire to please Evangelicals in some of the theological triumphalism quite distasteful. Conversely, I have long been in relationship with a dear, dear friend who -- when I read the Affirmations to her over the telephone recently -- told me that they are so inclusive that she, as a steadfast Evangelical, sees them as liberal “hogwash.”
I commend Elnes, his congregation, and colleagues for trying. The Phoenix Affirmations and its sister project, CrossWalk America are trying hard to build that bridge. Unfortunately, I think they’re trying to start by building the middle section first, rather than firmly anchoring both ends of the structure and then building toward the middle. This small book is worth reading, if only as a view to what might one day be. As much as I wish today could be that day, I think there is much work to be done on either shore before this middle piece can do anything but be beaten to pieces by the turbulent theological sea below.
|
